Fortitude, Shark sound teams win RTS Craft & Design Awards

The audio teams behind Sky Atlantic psychological thriller Fortitude and BBC wildlife series Shark took home the two sound awards at last night's Royal Television Society (RTS) Craft & Design Awards 2014–2015.

The award for 'sound – drama' went the sound team for Fortitude (produced by Fifty Fathoms/Tiger Aspect Productions for Sky Atlantic), while the the 'sound – entertainment and non-drama productions' gong was picked up by Kate Hopkins, Tim Owens, Will Slater and Graham Wild for Shark (BBC Natural History Unit for BBC One).

"The judges felt [Fortitude] quite simply achieved ‘movie sound’ on television," says the RTS. "The soundscape created a world that the viewer utterly believed in but never felt as if it took over from the drama in any way. It was well judged to enhance the scale and impact of the drama itself."

Commenting on Shark, it adds: "Quite simply this piece was considered stunning, with a level of detail that was awe-inspiring. What was additionally brilliant was that the resulting soundscape was never relentless; even when it was slightly heightened it was perfectly judged."

'Sound – drama' runners-up included the sound team for Wolf Hall and Jim Goddard, Stuart Hilliker, Dan Green and Alastair Widgery for Black Mirror: White Christmas. Just missing out on the entertainment and non-drama productions prize were Mike Hatch, Matt Skilton and Tony Burke for La traviata: Love, Death and Divas and Nick Fry, David Runciman and Oscar Bloomfield-Crowe for The 7/7 Bombing Survivors' Stories.

Three special awards – the design and craft innovation award; the judges' award; and the lifetime achievement award – were given to the Pets – Wild at Heart production team, the Wolf Hall production team and veteran production designer Dennis De Groot.

The awards ceremony, hosted by comedian Susan Calman, took place on 30 November 2015 at the London Hilton Park Lane hotel. A full list of winners can be found on the RTS's website.